As another year comes to a close the time has come to think about what it is that we want in the future. Yes, that’s right.

“What do you want little boy or little girl for Christmas?”

What? You don’t believe in Santa Claus. Well, you should because he’s real. No, he’s not a physical man riding around in a sleigh being pulled by magical reindeer led by Rudolph. In order to shoot down a chimney and deliver toys. No, Santa Claus is what the Greek philosopher Plato calls a Form; Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung calls an archetype, what people nowadays call a guardian spirit and what the Kamitic (ancient Egyptian) philosophers called thousands of years ago a netcharu.

That’s right. Santa Claus is a real spiritual entity that travels around the world at night from the North Pole. There, in the north, which according to the orthodox kabbalah and the maa aankh is the direction of Hell, is where Santa and his little helpers are at making toys and things.

To prepare for Santa, Saint Nick (Nicholas for short) or Sinister Claus as he used to be called, in the Medieval World, he was offered nuts, fruits and wine to sweeten his disposition. The tradition continues today with children leaving him cookies, candies, flan (if your Latino) and milk because Ole Nick has a ravenous appetite for alcoholic beverages and can become quite unruly if he drinks too much.

Still don’t recognize who Santa Claus really is? Well, you have to go into trance to see him. This is how you see spirits. When you go into trance your brain moves from the normal beta state to the alpha state, because your ab (conscious awareness) has shifted from your sahu (subconscious) to your ba (superconscious). In other words, your awareness is introverted, which allows you to see spiritual things among other “things”. When your ab is extroverted you can only see things from a superficial level. You can see all of the parts and not be able to see the whole picture. For instance, you see Santa Claus from a literal perspective, as being a figment of imagination, of most likely of European origin, that wears red clothing, makes a list, loves children, punishes the wicked and fail to see that Santa Claus is the European syncretism of the Kamitic Npu (the Santeria Ellegua, Umbanda Exu and Palo Lucero) who Opens the Way. All of these gifts are offerings of fertility, so that he does not act/rule against you and allow you to suffer (at the jaws of Aummit).

So come on. Don’t deprive your children and yourself of material and spiritual blessings. Who cares that you know the true history of Christmas. Can you use it to improve your life with it? Can you explain it to your child? Is your child cool with it or are they sitting around looking at other kids wishing they had another life? Adapting is how we have survived and the way to reintroduce ourselves back to our cultural way is by making changes. Let us not forget that most of the holidays that exist were originally Kamitic, based upon the Kamitic calendar and Kamitic spiritual science. In a desperate move for political control, Roman Catholicism built on top of them. That’s the history but we need to focus on today. So, leave some sweets out for your Npu and remember…

You better watch out,
You better not cry,
You better not pout,
I’m telling you why:
Santa Claus or Npu is coming to town!

In part 2 I will explain why it is important to appease Npu and how Aummit manifests itself.

I was recently asked why is KAMTA and the maa aankh so important to me? It was a loaded question.

So, I began by stating that it was Brother Arthur Flower’s Hoodooway list (which I had the honor and priviliege of participating on) and the Orb of Djenra blog that first brought to my attention that although early African Americans weren’t able to preserve a large portion of their religious culture as their kin had done in the Caribbean and Latin America. Early African Americans did manage to preserve a great deal of it through dances, folk practices, proverbs, songs and history. It was through these various cultural practices that early African Americans were able to preserve their cultural way by passing on traditions, which became the basis of African American shaman tradition known today as Hoodoo or Rootwork, as it was called in the northern states where I am from.

Contrary to popular belief, Hoodoo/Rootwork has never been all about casting spells for ill, doing magical work and making pacts with the devil. This is all sensational nonsense that was created years ago by racist individuals and promoted through a stereotypical media that took advantage of the public’s ignorance about people of African descent. Unknown to most Hoodoo/Rootwork is an African American folk practice that was created by African Christians during slavery. Like most folk practices such as the European folk practice of reading of the Psalms, praying and saying grace before a meal, the use of sacred objects like blessed oil, blessed water, the Holy Bible and so on. Hoodoo/Rootwork in employed to obtain spiritual and often divine remedies for material and physical ailments such as problems with money, obtaining love, protection from evil and so on. Hoodoo/Rootwork as you can see is very similar to European folk practices. The only difference between the two is that the African American folk practice was created and used by African slaves in order to fight, resist and struggle against the cruelties of slavery.

It was through this folk tradition that the shamanistic practices brought from Africa were able to survive the tragic slave experience and contribute greatly to African American spirituality. As a result, early African Americans were able to continue to mark very important events that occurred in his or her life through a spiritual blueprint or cosmogram called the Kongo Cross.

As I mention in MAA AANKH Vol. 1, I first learned of the Kongo Cross through my deceased grandparents. One day while contemplating how to do something that I remembered my grandparents use to do. Shortly after, my attention was drawn to my grandmother’s obituary notice and there it listed her birthday and the day she died, but most African Americans have a strong ingrained cultural taboo against saying death or that someone died, especially when the individual was a godly-minded individual. Instead most African Americans say that the person “passed” or “passed away”, because although physically they do not exist something within our psyche knows that their soul continues to exist. On my grandmother’s obituary instead of saying like I have seen on other cultures obituary birth and death date, it stated Sunrise and Sunset.

This was amazing to me because I had, had this obituary for the longest time and looked at it numerous times and never saw that. I could’ve called it mere coincidence that I was thinking about doing something that drew my attention to look at my grandmother’s obituary notice. I could if I was arrogant, naïve and didn’t believe in spiritual (invisible, non-material) intercession, but I do, which is how I “humbly” came to realize that ancestral spirits do exist. It was proof that the righteous souls do continue to exist and do not die. In other words, there is “life after death”; these ancestral beings just continually to exist as spirits.

This is how I truly learned about the Kongo Cross and came to really understand African American spirituality. It was this understanding that led me to see that the Kongo Cosmogram besides marking one’s birthday and their death. Also signified other important events like the initiation into African American fraternities and sororities, as well as significant spiritual events like the day an individual was baptized, came to God or converted to their chosen religious faith. It was all a reminder of one of the things older African Americans were known for saying, which is, “That we all have to go through something, in order to get something.” This something I later discovered as I analyzed my life helped me to see that life is all about the choices that we make. It made me realize that many of our choices are ill-informed choices and unwise decisions. Some of us continue to keep making these same choices, which lead us into the same unproductive relationships, same unwise money purchases, etc. All because someone never told us that this is our life and it is up to us to make the best out of it. This means that just like everything else we have to learn how to make better decisions, which means learn from the past (your past and the past of others-ancestors-history).

This is one of the most valuable lessons that I learned from the Kongo Cross, which led to the creation of the maa aankh, a cosmogram inspired by the Kongo Cross but based upon the Kamitic/Kemetic (Ancient Egyptian) concepts and principles. It was through the maa aankh it became apparent that when we learn from our mistakes, face our fears, and overcome our faults, that our spiritual talents are activated. This is our initiation system where we become great healers, musicians, entertainers, speakers, politicians, etc. There are countless stories of African Americans that have had this spiritual awakening. This is why most grown people don’t particular care for teen boppers singing about love because deep down we know that this 15 to 24 years old doesn’t have any real experience with the subject matter. The older folks use to say, “They don’t have any SOUL”. Before then, it was called in our churches ANOINTING.

When you have ANOINTING, it is truly a powerful, cultural experience that can’t be explained in words because it is a mystical connection between you and the Divine. It is similar to an assurance that everything is going to work out but it is also a pledge that you have to do your part.

It is for these reasons I can truly say that the maa aankh is not a New Age, magical circle creation based upon syncretic beliefs with sacred technology. It is truly an initiation system that has been handed down to us from the first Africans brought to North America. The early African Americans just never called it an initiation/spiritual system or “religion” because like most indigenous people. They didn’t regard their spiritual beliefs and practices as a “religion” in the way religion is viewed today as a set of beliefs and practices only performed one or a couple of days out of the week. No, their spiritual beliefs and practices were an integral and seamless part of their way of life. It is this understanding of the maa aankh that makes it so special to me, because it helped me to move beyond intellectualizing about being religious and spiritual, to actually Being

It is from this understanding that I have been informed to refer to this African American cross-spiritual practice as Kamitic/Kemetic shamanism because it offers various forms of healing including giving one a sense of purpose and access to forgotten knowledge (traditions). This is accomplished by entering into an altered mind state or a meditative/mediumistic state of mind, similar to dreaming, except one obtains information and power that can help them in their physical life. It works because it has always been a part of the plan for us to seek and connect with the Divine within our being in order to succeed in life.

I am aware that there are other Kamitic/Kemetic initiation systems that exist and I applaud the creators and founders of those systems, because they assisted me in realizing my divinity, as well. But the maa aankh is truly dear to me for several reasons. The first is because it was derived from my most recent ancestors (my grandparents and great grandparents). Second, since the maa aankh was derived from the Kongo Cross, which was created by the Kongo-Angolan people, a Bantu ethnic group, through it I was able to get a glimpse of my ancestral past. Last but not least, since the maa aankh also helped me to stretch back into time and get a glimpse of my Bantu ancestral memories, I was able to imagine and thus reconnect to those Bantu people that walked alongside the Nile River. There simply is no greater joy than being able to reconnect to the Divine through your ancestral, cultural heritage, because once that connection is made there are unlimited possibilities as to how it can be expressed. Another great advantage is that suddenly your small, limitless world all of sudden expands as you sense the cultural connection between you and others. Everything takes on a new meaning not because you intellectualize it but, because you see the spiritual significance of it. Like Capoeira before I saw it as a beautiful Afro-Brazilian art, but after my experience I see it as totally integral with my way of life. When I do play in a a roda, I found myself easily going into the au (cartwheel) to access power or axe’ (ashe) from below (within, from the ancestors, etc. however you want to look at it). Dancing rather it be to Mary Mary’s God in Me, Machel Montano’s Too Young to Soca, Bob Marley’s Soul Shake Down Party, Holwin Wolf Smokestack Lightnin to Celena Gonzalez’ Santa Barbara or Bamboleo’s Tecapacita. It all has new meaning because even dancing helps to propel into the mystical realm some refer to as Zen. It is all part of the awakening experience where one is blessed, and his or her talents are awakened, as they feel the Spirit, hence ANOINTING.

Simply put, it is a spiritual system that acknowledges our divinity because it is based upon our biological and cultural identity/self.

This week I am another day older thanks to Kamitic/Kemetic spirituality. Sometimes I wondered how I was going to make it, but it was truly this Kamitic/Kemetic Way of Life that saved me. I remember when I was 15 looking at the depressing news and hearing the most discouraging words of power from the media during the crack cocaine 1980s, “Young black males won’t make it to 18”, then it went to “21”, “25”. Well, I am 30 something! I made it and now I am trying to help others to get out of that destructive cycle.

I never understood what this cycle was until I went through my experience and my ancestors taught me about the maa aankh, a Kamitic/Kemetic cosmogram inspired by the Kongo Cross. You see according to the maa aankh. The destructive cycle that a lot of young people (especially young men) fall into is called Ra, which is associated with the point Tu-Kula in Ki-Kongo. Both of these points are red and they correspond to the midday sun. Red is the color of caution, danger, vitality and emergency and on the maa aankh it is associated with the envious brother of Osar (Asar, Ausar, Osiris) named Set. Set for those who don’t know is the author of confusion, war, chaos, destruction, you name it, if it is evil he has his hands on it. His original name is Set and later he became known as Set-an and finally Satan. His color by the way is also red.

Ra leads to Ra Atum, which is the point of completion, the end, death and transformation. Ra Atum is associated with the Luvemba point which is the color white. White is the color of our elders’ gray hair, it is the color of the ancestors, and the cool color of the Lord Osar.

In the natural sense it is okay if you have mastered what is necessary in a particular cycle for you to change, be transformed or die, because it only means that you will be reborn from your experience (hence, the return of old souls being reborn as babies). But, when you die at an early age and haven’t learned anything or what you were supposed to learn. We die prematurely both spiritually and physically. Looking back at how I made it and survived the 1980s, I see that I had to learn how to temper the fire (anger, attitude, rashness, rebelliousness, etc.) and have a cool head. I had to learn how to balance the heat with coolness. I had to listen to my elders who were much wiser and had more experience than I, so that I could avoid dying prematurely. It was by doing that, I was able to escape those turbulent times, pass the initiation (test) created by life and now metaphorically speaking wear the double pschent crown, like Hru (Hrw, Heru, Horus).

Post originally appeared on the Land of Kam website on 3/10/2010
as “What about Jesus & Kamitic Spirituality?”

King Mena (Menes/Narmer)

King Mena (Menes/Narmer) is our eldest and most honorable ancestor because according to historical records, he was the first king to unify Upper and Lower Kamit. Yet, when discussed on most forums his contributions are often ignored and people simply continue on their way talking about Kamitic culture, Kamitic spirituality, Kamitic science. But, how can you talk about all of these subjects without first beginning with King Mena is beyond me. So, let’s start at the beginning.

Red Deshret Crown

Deshret Crown

What’s not known about Kamit by most is that Lower Kamit according to the Kamitic people was called Ta Sett (The Red Lands). This was because it for the most part was a barren area with difficult and infertile terrain. For this reason the Kamau marked this territory with the red deshret crown.

Upper Kamit on the other hand was a complete opposite of Ta Sett. Unlike TaSett, the terrain of Kam Ta was fertile due to the inundation of the Nile River which flowed northward. The rich soil attracted all sorts of wild game, thus making life considerably easier in ancient times. For this reason the ancient settlers along the Nile River called this area Kam Ta (The Black Lands, hence the Land of Kam) for one because of the dark rich soil. Interestingly, though the Kamau marked this territory with a white crown instead of a black crown.

White Hedjet Crown

Hedjet Crown

Why a white crown you ask? The reason corresponds to ancient African symbolism. Archeologists and those concerned with reconstruction have glossed over this observable fact because it connects Kamit biologically and culturally with the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa. The reason is because Upper Kamit, Kam Ta – The Land of Kam also referred to the southern region of country. The Kamau, masters of pun, marked this area with a white crown in reference to their ancestral beginnings because the color white recognized throughout Africa is the color of the honorable dead or ancestors.

Djett: Osar’s Backbone

Djett: The Backbone of Osar

When we take this all into consideration, we see that Osar (Asar, Ausar, Osiris) according to legend is the first to unite Kamit. He is the first to give the people laws. He is the first honored dead and the first resurrected savior. Above we see that King Mena is wearing the white hedjet crown and various depictions indicate that he apparently is the first Osar. This means that Osar is not a god, but a deified ancestral spirit. Further understanding of ancient African color symbolism reveals that this ancestral spirit is devoted to unifying and bringing people together in the most peaceful means possible according to spiritual laws and principles. This ancestral spirit that the Kamau called Osar is stable, strong and dependeable which is another reason why the hidden in the name of the white hedjet crown is the Kamitic word djet, which is known as the pillar and backbone of Osar (again another reverence to ancestors). When an individual learns from their mistakes, obtains sudden flashes of insight or wisdom, it is believed to come from the hidden realm of the ancestors. This is why King Mena is so important and relevant.

Of course, when the Kamitic people converted to Christianity and created the Coptic church they had to change things around, so instead of venerating King Mena or Osar openly. They changed the name to Jesus. Jesus took on all of the qualities of Osar because he like King Mena strove to accomplish the same thing in the Middle East. Unfortunately, the reason most people can’t shake the Euro-centric image of Jesus out of their Spirit even though they know that Jesus technically speaking was a man of color. Is because for so long we have been told to worship this figure from the Euro-centric perspective. When it is understood that Jesus is simply an ancestral spirit/archetype and like any other ancestral spirit you are supposed to honor and venerate, but not worship. Meaning, you live your life striving to be Christ-like, Osar-like or in the hopes of becoming an honorable ancestor like King Mena. That’s when when the real power of God – the Rau – kicks in and begins to make miracles in your life.